Etymologies

BY Emah Fox

Beatles (n.) fr. beetle; insect with biting mouthparts and forewings, of the order Coleoptera (OE bitela, fr. bitel ‘biting’). Nickname of the original Volkswagen car, 1946

The name ‘Beatles’ was not given to John in a vision by a man appearing on a flaming pie. It was partly a tribute to the 1957 film The Wild Ones, in which a bike gang is called the Beetles, and partly a play on Buddy Holly’s band The Crickets, substituting the E for an A because they were a beat band. Originally The Blackjacks (1957), The Quarry Men (1957), Johnny and the Moondogs (1959), The Beatals (1960), The Silver Beetles (1960), The Silver Beats (1960), The Beatles (1960).

Stones (n.) (Rolling Stones) Fr. ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss’ (English proverb): meaning that one who keeps moving avoids responsibilities and cares, but conversely does not belong anywhere as they never put down roots. “The rolling stone neuer gatherth mosse” (1546). “Saxum volutum non obducitur musco”(Latin, circa 1BC).

The band The Rolling Stones took their name from the 1950 Muddy Waters track “Rollin’ Stone” in 1962.

“I got a boy child’s comin’. He’s gonna be, he’s gonna be a rollin’ stone.” (“Rollin’ Stone”, Muddy Waters, 1950)

“You know, a rolling stone don’t gather no moss.” (“Early In The Morning”, Buddy Holly, 1958)

“How does it feel to be without a home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone?” (“Like A Rolling Stone”, Bob Dylan, 1965)

“Everybody knows the boss, a rolling stone gathers no moss.” (“Highway Chile”, Jimi Hendrix, 1967)

“A Beetle-house and Alexander Beetle coming out!” (“Alexander Beetle”, Melanie Safka/A.A.Milne, 1970)

“Now for ten years we’ve been on our own, while moss grows fat on a rolling stone but that’s not how it used to be.” (“American Pie, Don McLean, 1971)

“Papa was a rolling stone, wherever he laid his hat was his home, and when he died, all he left us was alone.” (“Papa Was a Rolling Stone”, The Temptations, 1972)

“Beetles in my carpet under my feet, they come out when they eat.” (“Beetles”, Aphex Twin, 1996)

“Beetlebum, she’ll suck your thumb, she’ll make you come.” (“Beetlebum”, Blur, 1999)

Beatlemania, a term coined in the 1960s to describe Beatles fan frenzy, it later became the name of several tribute bands and a Broadway show. Related words: Rollermania (1970s, Bay City Rollers), Menudomania (1980s, Menudo).